Momentous
/moʊˈmɛn.təs/noun
Of great importance or significance.
Did you know?Momentous is ultimately tied to Latin momentum, a word for motion and moving force, so its modern sense of “great importance” grew out of the idea of a decisive push or turning point.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*mew-
“to move, push, impel”
Latin
Latin
movēre
“to move”
Latin
Latin
momentum
“movement, motion; a moving force or impulse”
Late Latin
Latin
momentosus
“full of movement; important, weighty”
Middle English
English
momentous
“of great consequence or importance”